To Kill A Phoenix
by pyrosaurus X
Summary: The Dark Age was not over. The Phantom Trial was merely the tip of the iceberg. Now the entire legal system is in disarray. Wrong verdicts are handed down to undeserving defendants, attorneys and judges are scorned wherever they go, trust in the law has diminished. To combat this darkness, one needs a weapon, and it takes the return of a long forgotten defense attorney to wield it.
1. Chapter 1

This should not have been the way it would end. When the judge banged his gavel and declared the defendant "not guilty," then that should have eradicated all doubts that were held against the legal system. The Dark Age should have been a distant nightmare by now. Yet it wasn't.

After the conclusion of the Phantom Trial, everything was peaceful. Then, a new case went to court: the murder of a small toddler in which the prime suspect was the father. No matter how hard Phoenix Wright fought for the man's defense, the final verdict was "guilty." A few weeks later, the real culprit behind the murder, a very jealous mistress of the man, openly admitted to killing the child when she was taking care of her, and committed suicide immediately after. Since then, similar cases of murder began to pop up, and with the same result every time: the guilty were being found innocent, and the innocent were being found guilty. The new system in which the jury decided the outcome was not working out, and people soon began to lose all faith in the court system once again. Because of this, Phoenix Wright inconspicuously left the city to go on a little crusade of his own to figure out where things went awry, along with Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe, Ema Skye, and another friend of his (for emotional support). However, people mistook his and the others' sudden disappearances from their duties as an omen that nothing could save the honor of the court now. Everything was in turmoil. Crimes and lawsuits were not being settled in court out of fear of the outcome and the growing distrust of attorneys. Even with the new rush of fresh-out-of-law-school students- over half of which switched professions upon seeing how crooked everything was- there was nothing that could console the reservations and suspicions the public held in their hearts. This was truly the darkest age of the law, returning with a vengeance. There was nothing that could be done now to redeem the system…

But maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for redemption. In the hearts of a few, select people there burned a fire of determination, determination to put an end to the evilness and restore order and trust back into the original legal system which the Founding Fathers poured their entire souls into developing. It was up to these people to bring the Dark Age to an end. For now though, they would have to wait until their time to act would truly present itself. The year is 2028…

* * *

_March 3__rd__, 2028  
__8:57 P.M.  
_

I was sitting alone in the Chief Prosecutors' Office, and yes, that is "prosecutors'" with an "apostrophe s." It seemed that with the coming of the Dark Age, the Board was becoming desperate for reliable and trustworthy people. Yet for some reason, they decided to appoint me, an ex-convict with a criminal background of being an accomplice and forgery, as co-Chief Prosecutor alongside my former subordinate. They merely told me that I had experience in the field, and though Edgeworth himself is very adequate at what he does, there was no way he could fight off these accusations of corruption in the Prosecutors' Office by himself. He understood these things all too well. I have to say that this was a surprising move by the Board, especially when I felt like I'm the one responsible for giving birth to this dark age. I _did_ assist in committing one of the greatest scandals in the history of the police department, though now it seemed that people overlooked what I did over nine years ago in favor of the more recent cases of forgery and misconduct.

Anyways, I was sitting alone in the Chief Prosecutors' Office, which I shared with Edgeworth (and let me add that he is a way better partner than that "worm" I used to work with) until that day he left and entrusted the management of the Prosecutors' Building to me. I was watching the news for any updates on a breakthrough in the current, criminal trials when my cell phone began to ring. The number was unrecognizable, but I answered it anyway, thinking it was someone from Criminal Affairs or the L.A.P.D. How wrong I turned out to be…

"This is Skye." I answered in my cold, professional tone. I guess some part of me never really softened up after all that had happened.

"Chief Prosecutor Lana Skye?" came the voice. It sounded like a high-pitched female.

"Yes?"

"I have to ask you: do you know a Mia Fey by any chance?"

I blinked. When was the last time that name ever crossed my mind? "Yes. I was friends with her in law school. But she's been…"

"She wants to speak with you."

I could feel the cold sweat dripping from my palms when I heard those words. Mia Fey had been dead for nearly a decade now. And here this person was telling me that she wanted to have a conversation with me? What kind of a cruel joke was that?!

"Who are you?!" I practically shouted into my receiver as anger began to boil up inside of me. "I demand to know who this is. This is not funny; it's painful and downright rude! Mia Fey is…"

"Lana?" A new voice came on the other line. I froze, immediately recognizing the voice. It had been so long, yet…Mia…

"W-Who is this?" I could barely find the words to speak.

"Lana…it's Mia. Mia Fey."

"No…that's impossible." My voice was trembling now, as was my entire body. "Mia Fey is dead…who are you? I swear, when I find out this is a prank…"

"Lana, I'm not joking with you. Not at a moment like this."

I paused for a very long time. There was no way this could be happening. It had to be a dream, a dream in which I was having a phone call conversation with my dead friend. There came a sigh from the other person, and I assumed she could sense my doubt.

"Lana, in law school while I was helping you study for the bar exam, we suddenly got on the topic of body art and piercings, and we were so out of it from lack of sleep that I decided to practice on you and pierced your bellybutton myself using an ice cube. I later promised you that I wouldn't tell anyone about it until you would get engaged. Remember? Oh, and the ring was a silver star."

I nearly dropped my phone out of surprise; nobody other than Mia would have known that, after all she was the only one in the room when it happened. And seeing how nobody knew about it yet because I'm still single, she really took that secret with her to the grave...wait, not the grave. She was alive. A torrent of emotions swelled within me when I came to that realization. Here I was, talking with my old friend who I thought- knew- was dead…but was actually still alive. It all happened so fast and I was so unprepared…that I didn't just know how to feel about it.

"Mia…" If I could barely speak before, I was hardly getting any words out now. "You're…alive…"

The person, no Mia, laughed softly on the other end. "Am I ever." I bet she was smiling to herself. "Now that I've convinced you, I have quite a long story to tell you."

:POV SWITCH:

My name is Mia Fey. Up until a few- well, I guess it's been more than that- years ago, I was a pretty well-known defense attorney. I had my own law firm, I was taking up and winning a lot of cases, and I would teach my tactics I used in the courtroom to my old student, Phoenix Wright. I was renowned for my quick-thinking techniques and the strong faith I placed in all of my clients; but that all changed one day, when I had let my guard down for only a few, mere minutes…

I was hiding evidence for a case against a man I had been investigating for quite some time. This man was responsible for ruining my mother's name and blackmailing a long list of people, including my former employer. After I had returned to my firm following a pre-trial meeting, he broke into my office before I could hand the evidence over to my sister, who had not yet arrived to pick up it up. I couldn't evade him fast enough, and he hit me over the head with a clock styled after The Thinker. I suffered massive brain damage as a result, and was presumed dead at the scene…but I wasn't. Miraculously, I survived the blow to my head, though it left me with a scar on my temple and a few, forgotten memories. When they brought me to the hospital, I was taken straight to the morgue where I regained consciousness, much to the surprise of the coroner. However, I convinced him along with a few others from the hospital not to tell anyone I was alive. If word got out about my survival, then that man would have been one of the first to know about it, and this wouldn't be the only attempt on my life. I was able to get him to agree, reluctantly of course, and he prepared a hospital room for me under a fake name, as well as coming up with a fake autopsy report. Yes…me lying my way out of death caused that man to get a "guilty verdict," but he was already guilty…being the sole cause of many suicides and demolished lives; he practically deserved it. The trauma sustained to my head was more severe than they thought when I had suddenly fallen into a coma one day. There have been times where I went into cardiac arrest, and ironically enough, Maya had been able to contact me right during those episodes. If those weren't instances of miracles, then I don't know what is. When I finally awoke from my coma years later, I found what my apprentice- now successor- had accomplished during this long period of time. I couldn't have been more proud of him, stepping up and being a leader, as well as taking two rookies under his wing and caring for a daughter at the same time. There was so much I had missed out on, but I didn't have time to catch up. As soon as I recovered, I slipped away, and went into hiding in the hopes of building a new life for myself. Believe me, I had my reasons for vanishing. For the past year, I had been staying with a woman who had just become a detective and it was through her where I found out all about the Dark Age of the law, and how it was gradually returning, far worse than it has ever been before. When I learned of Phoenix's and the others' disappearances, I realized that I couldn't just stand around and do nothing. As much as I tried to get away from my old life, I knew I had no choice but to return. After all, law is what I've been practicing for as long as I can remember. My roommate was able to pull a few strings to get me my badge back, and as soon as I got back into my profession, I had already taken up a case.

I relayed all of this to Lana over the phone.. From the way she was breathing too hard, I wondered if she was still shocked out of her wits or was getting a bad migraine from all of this overwhelming information. It must have been hard for her to process all this, but I couldn't think of anyone else I trusted more than her to tell. She was a strong woman; I figured she'd be able to get over the surprise pretty quickly by her standards. After a few seconds, her breathing calmed down and she spoke in the same, calm, normal voice. Yep, I was right; she hadn't changed much since I've last talked to her.

"So this is the first case you've taken up after over nine years of being out of practice?" She surmised.

I winced. When she said it like that, it sounded like I was making a mistake. "Y-Yes. I figured better now than later, you know?"

"…I wasn't expecting anything less from you, you know." Came her blunt reply. "Even after being gone from existence all this time, you're still the same, old Mia."

I didn't answer, hoping I could come off across as not impressed with her sarcastic humor. In actuality, I just didn't have a clever comeback for that one.

"So…your reason for calling me…?"

"Ah, yes!" Finally, I could get down to business. "You see, I need someone to be my co-counsel tomorrow, and…I figured you would understand my circumstances better than anyone would at this point. Of course, I know how busy you are, with being Chief Prosecutor in such a dark time…"

"I'll do it."

That was fast. Almost too fast. "Are you sure?" I had to ask her for confirmation. She knew that I would hold her to it, and backing out wouldn't be an option.

"Positive." Even though her tone was flat, I could practically envision her smiling with excitement. "I owe you a lot, Mia. And it's the least I can do for an old friend."

"Are you sure it isn't because you miss the courtroom drama?"

This got a laugh from her. "You never cease to amaze me. It'll be great to see you back in action again."

"Excellent." I found myself smiling too. Even though I had already many trials under my belt, I still felt those familiar, jittery nerves I often got when I was a rookie. The rush was exhilarating, especially after being out of a courtroom for so long. It wasn't going to be easy with these dark times surrounding us, but I would be able to pull through. And if I could just shine the tiniest bit of light in the darkness, then I would know that I had made the right choice to "come back to life."

I ended my phone call with Lana once I gave her the time and courtroom number before I returned to studying the case file before me. I noticed my roommate glancing at me from across the room and giving me a knowing grin.

"I'm coming to watch your trial tomorrow." She announced.

"Great, add more pressure to me than there already is. Exactly what I needed." I replied sarcastically, to which she laughed.

"You have an interesting history with trials. I'm really looking forward to it." She stretched her limbs as she went to her bedroom to return for the night. "Be sure to rest up. It's your first day back in court after all."

As if I needed to be told that twice. "Don't worry. I won't push myself too hard."

If only she knew that sleepless nights before a trial was practically a ritual to me. The fact that I had just put my attorney's badge back on didn't change that. I smiled impishly. It was great to be back.

* * *

**PX: Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

_March 4__th__, 2028  
__7:20 A.M._

_Ah, the days of my youth…like the scent of fresh lemons._

Oh my God, I could not believe that that quote had just crossed my mind. I'm not old! …I'm only thirty-nine. I couldn't really say the same for my former employer, who often said that line more often than not. Lord knows what he has been up to nowadays.

The defendant's lobby was rather empty at this time. From what I had been told, they were still escorting my client over to the courthouse. It had to be done privately because too many protestors of the legal system have gotten violent and caused riots whenever a trial was held. Apparently, things have gotten so out of hand that attorneys and judges had to park their cars as _far away _from the courthouse as possible out of fear that their vehicles would be vandalized. Not even the increasing amount of security was enough to keep people in line. This truly was the dark age of the law…

"Mia!" I turned to see my roommate walking towards me with a cheerful expression on her face.

"Morning, Kol." I tried my best to give her a confident smile, though there was a raging storm of anxiety inside me right now. It didn't help that I was sleep deprived at the moment either. "You're here early."

"Really? I got caught up at the precinct questioning a drug dealer we nabbed earlier this morning." She paused as she looked around. "This entire courthouse is deserted. I didn't even see any bailiffs on the way in."

"They're probably running into trouble with some extremists on the way here." I muttered. "Because of the chaos, they try to hold trials as discreetly as possible."

Kol frowned. "I can't believe it has gotten this bad."

"Me too. But this is why I decided to come out of hiding. This needs to be dealt with accordingly."

"I could not have said that better myself, Fey."

I nearly flinched when I heard that familiar voice. In walked Lana, dressed in military-style clothing with her signature red muffler hanging around her neck. It had been so long since I've seen her last, yet I would be able to recognize her from anywhere. Despite how long it has been, there were no hugs or excitable greetings exchanged as we saw each other again. We merely smiled and shook each other's hands like professionals.

"Lana, you have no idea how glad I am that you showed up." I said. She nodded her head slightly as a response, and I couldn't begin to imagine what was going on in her thoughts right now. "So, I want to know…what were you expecting when you walked into the courthouse?"

Lana crossed her arms as she creased her brow in thought. "Let's see…how would you feel if you saw me after a long time of believing I was dead, when in reality I was merely asleep for some odd years, then woke up, moved in with another person, and disappeared off the face of the earth once again?"

I laughed at her statement, though I felt a pang of guilt for my actions bubbling in my stomach. "Yeah…it's crazy, I know."

Her serious façade faded as she laughed and pulled me into a quick embrace. "All the same though, I'm glad to see you alive and well. I must say, you look…just as you did in law school. You know, most people age forward."

"Ha, really?" I didn't bother to tell her that I changed my appearances for security reasons; I wasn't comfortable showing my face around just yet, and knowing how forgetful the judge was, I knew I'd be able to go unremembered by just changing my hairstyle to the one I had when I was younger. "I could say the same about you too! You look like you haven't aged at all since I've last seen you."

Lana shrugged. "You think so? That's rather a surprise, considering all the stress I've been putting up with."

I knew Lana went through a lot over the years, so I decided not to press on the topic further. Instead, I figured that some introductions were in order.

"Lana," I said, gesturing to Kol. "This is my roommate. I believe you talked with her briefly last night."

"Ah, yes." Lana smiled as she offered her hand. "Lana Skye, Chief Prosecutor."

"Detective Kol Blanchard." Kol replied a little enthusiastically as she shook Lana's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"So, how did you come to know Mia?"

"Well," Kol put a finger up to her chin, obviously trying to hide her amusement. "She knows my brother. I wouldn't say their meeting was a pleasant one…after all, he thought she was dead when they first met."

Lana was visibly shocked at that. "You mean…"

"Yeah, my brother was her would-be coroner! Gave him quite a fright too when she suddenly got up from her bed. When Mia was released from the hospital, my brother advised her to come stay with me, since I am a detective and well educated in law. We bonded over that, and she's been very helpful with some of my cases too."

"Quite a friendship. Wouldn't you agree, Lana?" I asked with a chuckle.

Lana just shook her head; she was probably caught off guard by how casual Kol and I were about this whole ordeal. "You never seem to meet people under normal circumstances. In fact, when we first met, you were hardly…"

"Okay, let's not venture there!" I shouted, trying to keep my temperature down. It's been a while, but I still had my "courtroom" voice as Maya would call it. "I didn't get a chance to tell you much about the case."

"My brother will be speaking in court, but he gave me a preview of the autopsy." Kol added with a hint of pride in her voice. She seemed rather thrilled to be taking part of a case with the return of a legendary attorney.

"Thank you, Detective. We'll look at it later." Lana placed the autopsy files into a manila folder, which looked pretty old and torn at some edges. "Does this look familiar, Fey? It's your friend, the Court Record."

"Of course I remember it!" I retorted. "It's not like I was born yesterday."

"Just testing you to make sure." She smirked. "Looks like you've still got a bit of lawyer left in you. So tell me more about this case. Also," She put her serious front back up, as if to emphasize whatever she was saying next, "keep in mind that despite the partnership we have now, you are still a defense attorney and I am a prosecutor. This will be the first and last time I will help you out like this. Understood?"

_Oh, Lana…well-reserved as ever_. I sighed. "Crystal clear. So here are the details for this case…"

* * *

The first case I took up was a murder case. The victim was a thirty-year-old man named Billy Williams. His body was discovered stuffed in the freezer in his parents' basement at around 3:30 A.M. last Friday, and the suspect was his twin sister, Vilma Williams. According to her, Billy lived unemployed with their parents, mooching off of their retirement pensions, until the both of them were moved to a retirement home. When discussing with an insurance agent about inheritance, he had gotten into a heated argument with his sister because he was going to get less money than she was when both of their parents would "kick the bucket." This argument carried on well into the early hours of the morning, and after police were called over by a neighbor complaining of all the shouting, that was when they discovered Vilma stuffing her brother's body into the freezer. Vilma gave me a copy of the will, should it be useful.

* * *

After I was finished explaining, Lana put a finger to her temple, probably contemplating all of the information. "Caught in the act…and with the perfect motive as well."

"Motive?" Kol questioned.

"Yes." I stifled the urge to groan. "With Billy out of the way, that would leave only Vilma to inherit the rest of the money. There are no more names on the list that point to potential relatives."

"Yikes…so it's no wonder all the suspicion gets pinned on her. The fact that they saw her trying to hide the body doesn't help either…"

By the tone of Kol's voice, I could tell she was pretty much asking me why I would decide to take up a case as hopeless as this one. Well, the truth is…

"That's Mia for you, Detective." Lana chimed in. "She never settles for the easy ones."

_Way to take the words out of my mouth, Lana._ I rolled my eyes. "When did you become a mind reader?"

I was expecting a witty answer, but I got a witty smirk instead, therefore wittingly stopping that conversation. Then, something seemed to have caught her interest and she leaned forward as if to get a better look at it. I followed her eyes until they locked onto an ash-gray haired woman in a burgundy sweatshirt, the name of some college university fading away. A single bailiff stood next to her. He appeared shaken, like he just experienced a terrible ordeal he would never want to relive again in his life. I would bet a couple of bucks I knew what it was.

"Is that your client?" Lana asked.

I nodded my head as I went over towards them with Kol and Lana following me behind.

"Good morning, Ms. Williams." I greeted in a cheery tone.

"It is anything _but _a good morning, _Ms. Bennet_." She practically spat out those words.

Lana and Kol gave me incredulous stares when my client mentioned the last name I chose for myself. I shrugged; what was I supposed to do after being "dead" for so long? If I'm going to live a new life, I might as well go by the last name of my favorite fictional character.

Vilma, not really paying attention to us, continued on with her rant, "First, I am _arrested_ for the murder of my brother, then my poor parents try to contact me at the Detention Center _demanding _to know why I did it, and to top it all off, _this_ guy…" She motioned towards the bailiff, who instinctively took a step away. "…decides to take me through an angry mob where they swarmed us like hornets. They _said _they were _against_ this trial, so I assumed they were on _my _side. But _no_, they wanted to deal with me _themselves_! They even had the _noose _waiting for me hanging from a flag pole outside the courthouse!"

There went my attempt at trying to cheer up my client. I thought it best not to tell her that I hadn't taken up a case in a little…a long time.

"So…the Dark Age has sprung a lynching trend?" I asked Lana.

Lana glanced away, a horrified expression on her face. "It's terrible. We try to make arrests, but it does nothing. Not even the criminals are safe anymore."

"In some cases where lynching is considered an unjustifiable murder, the lynchers become the lynched…with a more "proper" trial, so they say." Kol added.

This was sickening. People who let their emotions get the better of their judgment have no place in playing God. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? I noticed Vilma giving me a skeptical glare next to me.

"Well?" She asked. "Am I going to be found _guilty_ or _not_?"

"Do not _worry_, Ms. Williams." I had to pause for a bit before I could start talking like this woman, emphasizing every other word…though I do admit, it would make everything more interesting. "Yes, there is a lot of evidence pointing to you as the killer, but I believe that without a doubt, you are innocent. Just leave it to me, and I'll have your name cleared in no time."

Vilma studied me for a long time as if she were trying to see if I was capable of living up to my declaration. I've seen her will, and her family was pretty well off financially so she could have hired any high-ranking attorney in the state…yet she chose me. I wondered if she was questioning her choice in lawyers as we spoke. Finally, she gave me a satisfied nod. "Very _well_ then. I look forward to _good _news after the trial."

I inwardly sighed out of relief. My client trusting me was just as important as me trusting my client. After we talked, I tried to put on my best confident face as I followed them into the courtroom. The nerves were twisting my stomach inside and out, and I was feeling very light-headed for some reason. This feeling of anxiety was almost nostalgic, but I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. A hand suddenly gripped my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts. Lana peered back at me, giving me an encouraging smile.

"Still putting all of your trust in your client." She commented light-heartedly. "Same old Mia."

Her words, short yet simple, was enough to remind me who I was as a defense attorney. I shouldn't be nervous when I wasn't the person on trial. My only job was to keep believing in my client until the very end. Defending them was only part of it.

I grinned back at my co-counsel, feeling rejuvenated by her reassurance. "Thank you, Lana. And…call me Misty."

* * *

**PX: The purpose of this chapter was to explain in a little more detail the atrocities of the Dark Age (plus if I added the entire trial part, then it would be too long) and to introduce my OC. Yes, Mia is a fan of Pride and Prejudice. Courtroom drama to come in the next chapter! Don't forget to leave a review!**


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